Model Inventory of Roadway Elements – MIRE, Version 1.0

Foreword

The development of the Model Inventory of Roadway Elements (MIRE) comes at a key point in time. Safety data are critical to making sound decisions about the design and operation of roadways. Critical safety data include not only crash data, but also roadway inventory data, traffic data, and other files. State DOT's need accurate and detailed roadway data as they develop and implement their Strategic Highway Safety Plans and look toward making safety investments that are more data driven.

Most States and local transportation agencies currently do not have all the data needed to use analysis tools such as SafetyAnalyst and the Interactive Highway Safety Design Model (IHSDM), and other procedures identified in the new Highway Safety Manual. The MIRE provides a structure for roadway inventory data that will allow State and local transportation agencies to use these analysis tools with their own data rather than relying on default values that may not reflect local conditions.

As the need for roadway inventory information has increased, new and more efficient technologies to collect roadway inventory information have emerged. However, the collected data still need a framework for the common sharing of the information. As with the Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria (MMUCC) effort that established a set of uniform crash data elements, definitions, and attributes that States are encouraged to adopt and has become a de facto standard, the MIRE provides an inventory of roadway data elements that addresses a similar need. The MIRE provides a structure for roadway inventory data elements through the use of common consistent definitions and attributes. Consistency is essential for making sense of aggregated data. Without consistency, it would not be possible to effectively compare results across jurisdictions and time regarding the application of safety treatments. Also, inconsistent information can result in safety efforts that are misguided, wasteful, or ineffective.

One of MIRE's intended functions has been to serve multiple roadway applications and user needs. The roadway data elements identified in MIRE were widely vetted across various user groups to ensure it met the data needs for multiple disciplines. The creation and application of this inventory will benefit not only safety but other disciplines such as operations, asset management and maintenance.

The benefits of MIRE — improved safety through the use of analytic tools and improved asset management, operations, and maintenance through the creation of a comprehensive inventory — will be realized only to the degree that transportation agencies use the resource. While the MIRE affords agencies a common framework in which to populate their roadway inventories, the task of completing these inventories still rests with the agencies responsible for building and maintaining the roads. We encourage the widespread adoption of the MIRE by these agencies as the framework for their roadway inventories.

[Signed] Michael S. Griffith
Director, Office of Safety Integration

[signed] Monique R. Evans
Director, Office of Safety Research and Development

Notice

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the information contained in this document.

The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers' names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document.

Quality Assurance Statement

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.

The contract managers for this report were Dr. Carol Tan (HRDS-06) and Robert Pollack (HSA).

16. Abstract

Safety data are the key to sound decisions on the design and operation of roadways. Critical safety data include not only crash data, but also roadway inventory data, traffic data, driver history data, citation/adjudication information, and other files. The need for improved and more robust safety data is increasing due to the development of a new generation of safety data analysis tools and methods. The Model Inventory of Roadway Elements (MIRE) Version 1.0 is a listing and accompanying data dictionary of roadway and traffic data elements critical to safety management. It builds upon the initial minimum MIRE listing released in 2007. A MIRE website has been developed to provide additional background information, resources, and discussion Forums. The website is available at http://www.mireinfo.org/.